Toy furniture



Oct. 27, 1,559,111

F. J. LEES TOY FURNITURE Filed June 21, 1923 INVENTOR ATTORNEY quickly assembled to re u e 0a. 21, 1925.

UNITED STATES nmmox J. was, or snenuw, m'cnresn.

. TOY

Application and June 21, 1923. Serial a. 846,809.

To all whom itmag Be it known that I,- Fnm1upx J. ;I mns, a citizen of the United Sta residing at Saginaw, in the county of agmaw and State of Michi an, have invented certam new and useful provements 1n Toy Furniture; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptlon of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. 1

This invention relates to toy furmture and the improvement comprises articles of knock-down furniture adapted to be built up of a plurality of flat pieces stamped from sheet metal and ads. ted to be eas1liy and lhrm well brace r1g1d pieces of furniture such as straight-backed or rocking chairs, settees and the hke. The articles can be easily disassembled and since all of the pieces of which they are composed are fiat they can be packed in small space for shipment, or mailed inan envelope.

The improvement comprises more specificall a plurality of flat pieces of'sheet metal ormed with interlocking o1nts of mproved construction so arranged as to 1mpart strength-and rigidity, in all directions,

to the assembled article.

With the above and certain other objects in view which will appear later the specification' my improvement comprlses the levices described and claimed and the equivalents thereof. I

In the drawingsFig. 1 1s a perspective view of a straight chair assembled.

Fig. 2 is apart sectional side view showing by dotted lines someof the variouspositions of the parts while being assembled.

Fig. 3 is a view of the seat member, showing by dotted linestheposition of the back member being assemble with the seat.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the back member.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the interlocking connection etween a side member and one edge of the seat member.

Fig. 6 is a detail of the connection between the rear of a seat member and the lower edge of the back member.

Fig. 7 is a detail of the connection between the u per end of a side member and an edge of t e back.

In the drawing which illustrates a straight chair as one embodiment of my implrovement, 1' is a side member stamped om sheet metal. 2 is the bottom or seat and 3 the back.

The interlocking connection between the side memberl and the seat 2 comprises a horizontal-slit 4 in the side member, communicating with an opening 5' narrower than the slit, the ends of the slit being formed with lugs 6 and 7, as shown in Fig. 2.

The seat member 2 is formed with an ear 8 having a narrow neck 9 adapted to fit into the slit 4 when inserted from above through opening 5 in the tilted positlon shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2 and in Fig. 5. The front edge of neck 9 engages the In 6 and the rear edge rests on the bottom 0% slit 4, supporting the seat 2 in a horizontal position.

The rear edge of seat 2 is formed as shown in- Figs. 3 and 6, with a slot 10 and a lug 11 at each side, and the back 3 has a corresponding slot 12, the two slots when assembled interlocking as shown in Figs. 2

and 6.

The to of each side 1 is formed with a bayonet s 0t 13, and the upper part of the back 3 has a corresponding slot 14, the two slots 13 and 14 interlocking when assembled asshown in Figs. 1, 2 and To assemble an article of furniture made according to my invention the bottom 2 is secured to the two sides by inserting the neck 9 of the seat 2 by way of openings 5' into the horizontal slits 4 of the side memhere. The lugs 6 and 7 hold-the seat in place in a horizontal position as above described.

The rear end of seat2 is raised as shown b dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the back 3 is simllarly interlocked with the lugs 11 of the seat. The u per part of the back is likewise inserte and locked to the two side members by-means of the bayonet slots13 of sides 1, 1 and-the slots 14 of the back.

Vertical strength is imparted to the assembled structure by the interlocking of the back and seat. Sidewise stiffness is imparted b the interlocking of the back and side mem rs and the interlocking of the seat and side members. There is practically no looseness or tendency to twist or rack in the article when assembled.

B the means above described I have produced a simple and inexpensive toy article which can be assembled without the use of tools and without bending or twisting any part of the structure. The article when assembled is practically as rigid as if it had been constructed in the usual manner. It may be taken apart readily and the parts when stacked are flat and occupy but small space. All the pieces are formed by simple cutting operations, as by means cutt ng dies. It is not necessary to employ forming dies, although they may be used for purposes of ornamentation if desired.

I have shown and described the improvement as applied to toy furniture, but when desired it may also be used in the construction of other knock-down furniture, as for example a rocking chair or other article which is needed in knock-down form for convenience in transportation, as for example on camping trips and the like. In the case of larger or full sized articles of furniture I prefer to make the various parts of wood or to build them up of veneer, al

ture.

ing narrower than said slit, said sides also formed with bayonet slots in their upper ends, a seat member formed with an car at each side near its front end, a narrow neck adapted to fit the horizontal slit of said flat side when inserted in said narrow opening, the rear edge of said seat formed witha pair of slots, :1 back member having slots interlocking with the slots of said seat, the upper part of said back member slotted and adapted to interlock in the bayonet slots of said side members.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signa- FREDRICK J. LEES. 

